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As a Pebbler I'm supposed to hate Fitbit with a passion, despite the fact that they've mostly made good on their promise to keep Pebble servers up and running through the end of 2017. But I'm also a big fan of mobile tap-and-pay solutions, especially if they actually work in Canada. And it turns out that Fitbit's new Ionic smartwatch, made official yesterday, supports NFC-based payments from your wrist.

For some perspective on this, Apple Pay already enables wrist-based payments with an Apple Watch, and any Android Wear device with NFC should have the same functionality. The biggest hurdle for Fitbit Pay will inevitably be the ugliness of its first proper smartwatch—it's every bit as hideous as the leak we saw earlier this month.

Last October I wrote about the egregious outright price of the Pixel XL in Canada—over $1,100 CAD for the 128 GB model. Midway through 2017 it seems that $1,000 USD is fast becoming the norm for a stretched display over a flagship phone. And if you happen to live in Australia and are a fan of the Galaxy Note series Samsung is expecting you to pony up $1,500 AUD for the latest version of that device.

It's not just an Android problem, either... Apple is expected to début its 10th anniversary iPhone with a price tag in excess of $1,000 USD and, according to at least one survey, prospective buyers seem fine with that.

I suppose an argument can be made that smartphone OEMs are merely passing on the R&D costs that make this product cycle's record-breaking screen-to-body ratios possible. But consider also that these same phones are in some ways downgrades from what came before. The Galaxy Note 8 has a smaller battery than the Note 7 (presumably so that it won't explode), Andy Rubin's high-priced Essential Phone has no waterproofing and neither it, the iPhone 8 or this year's Pixel series from Google will have a headphone jack.

With these compromises in mind I have to ask: Are we actually getting a reasonable value from this year's near-bezel-less flagships?

Nevertheless, we should be grateful for a thoughtful redditor's recent contribution to r/Android, comparing the differences between 2017's "bezel-less" smartphones so far. There are some notable omissions... Xiaomi's Mi Mix kicked off this craze last year but was never intended for the North American market, so that's fine. But the Essential Phone should definitely be here. It's also odd that the as-yet unreleased iPhone 8 is present, but the similarly-leaked Pixel 2 XL is not.

I think that the general idea here was to compare the bezels on specific phones and their forebears, specifically the Galaxy Note 8 vs. Note 7 and iPhone 8 vs. the 7 Plus. It also seems like the author is trying to decide between an LG V30 and G6. And for some reason the OnePlus 3 has been added to the comparison of bottom bezels and phone widths.

To find out what other redditors are saying see the link directly below.

Before you upgrade your Nexus or Pixel to Google's latest and greatest, you might want to read this first...

Android Police is reporting that some users who have done so are reporting that, on Android Oreo, Bluetooth automatically switches off almost immediately after being turned on. Granted, this was also an issue on some devices running Android Nougat; this time, however, Google itself is taking the unprecedented step of soliciting feedback on its Pixel and Nexus forums.

Most of the replies so far concern Android Auto, and include pairing issues, problems displaying music album artwork and audio hiccups while making phone calls. For Bluetooth headphones, headsets and speakers, there are multiple reports of audio cutting out, sometimes as often as every 5-20 seconds.

It's all but certain that there will be no headphone jack on Google's second-generation Pixel phones; these Bluetooth issues should probably be fixed before those devices ship.

Yesterday just before dinner I attended a TELUS-sponsored event showcasing Andy Rubin's Essential Phone. That Canadian carrier scored exclusive rights to sell the PH-1 in this country, and from their own listing seem to be offering it on payment plans only—$290 CAD down and $95/month or $490 down and $85/month for the duration of a two-year contract.

I always find these carrier events just a little unsavoury, as the money that bankrolls their open bars and extravagant settings comes directly from subscribers' pockets. However, this one was at least a bit more informative than most, with employees from Essential on-hand to talk about various aspects of the phone. There were three manned stations—Camera, Design and Engineering; I visited each and listened to a short presentation, then tracked down an actual phone and took some photos. Which were of course out of focus.

Anyway, here's what I learned about the Essential Phone...

The Feel

There's no questioning it, The PH-1 is a substantial device to hold in your hand, and definitely feels worthy of its $700 USD price tag. I also got to hold some of its individual components separately. The titanium frame is strong but impressively light, but when you add the ceramic back there's definitely some heft.

As for the 360° camera accessory, the magnets that hold it to the phone are strong enough that you won't have to worry about it coming unstuck.

The Cutout

I didn't realize this, but the cutout at the top of the display for the selfie cam also holds the proximity and other sensors that you'd expect along the top of a typical smartphone. That's no small feat, and Essential did a better job with this than LG, Samsung or even what's coming from Apple.

The Chin

Of course I had to ask to design guy about this... Why does the Essential Phone's screen not extend all the way to the bottom edge of the phone? It turns out that, even without a headphone jack, some space was still needed for the LCD display driver and speaker assembly.

The Bootloader

On at least one of the phones I handled the bootloader was unlocked, and I was able to confirm with its owner that the bootloader on all Essential Phones is indeed unlockable. For Android modders that's great news.

When it comes to carrier locks things are less clear. Phones ordered from Essential.com are SIM-unlocked but whether the TELUS version is any different is unknown. It's kind of academic, anyway, as it looks like the only way you'll be able to buy the phone in Canada is on TELUS through one of their payment plans and a two-year commitment.

Expect to hear more about the Essential Phone if and when TELUS give us a loaner for review.

Google has so far released two Pixel-branded Chromebooks—the original in 2013 and a refresh in 2015, pictured directly above. According to Android Police, there will be a new Chromebook Pixel announced alongside the new Pixel phones later this year. Perhaps this one will be available for purchase in Canada? Please...?

This third iteration of Google's own high-end notebook may or may not be an evolution of Project Bison, an Andromedia-powered notebook/tablet convertible with the following specs:

The existence of Project Bison was leaked to Android Police last fall; since then a new name has started popping up in the commits on Google's Chromium code review—this device, referred to as Eve, also seems to be a convertible with a Wacom digitizer. It could be the continuation of Project Bison, or something entirely new.

For what it's worth, Bison was thought to retail for $799 USD. That's significantly cheaper than the first two Chromebook Pixels, and more in line with 2015's Pixel C tablet.

I'm having a hard time believing that this is in any way official artwork for the next version of Android, but I can't fault the source—Evan Blass rarely, if ever, get's this stuff wrong. If he's right, expect Android Oreo to be made official by the end of the day.

It would be the first confectionery co-branding since Android KitKat, almost four years ago. That version of the platform introduced the Android Runtime as a technology preview which would eventually replace the Dalvik Virtual Machine; Oreo's most welcome feature will likely end up being Project Treble, a reworking of the OS as a modular base to enable more efficient OEM customizations and (hopefully) faster software updates for end users.

Google has scheduled a web event to coincide with the solar eclipse rolling across the USA later today. Their livestream will start broadcasting at 2:40pm Eastern Time, so we won't be in the dark about the next version of Android for much longer...

This is the gimmick that Nokia is using to pitch their new flagship model 8, which was finally made official late yesterday. From the camera app you can access both the front and rear-facing camera feeds simultaneously in a 50/50 split window, like you see you above. "Bothies" can be photos, recorded video or even live video streamed to Facebook and/or YouTube.

If nothing else, it's an apt demonstration that the camera modules on either side of the phone are identical—though there's an additional monochrome sensor on the back. Die-hard Nokia fans will probably be most interested in the ZEISS logo on the rear camera assembly.

The Nokia 8 will be available for purchase on September 6th with a price tag of €599 EUR, or about $700 USD. Here's the bad news: Nokia has no immediate plans to bring their flagship to North America. Could be good news for grey market importers, though...!

Hot on the heels of yesterday's story about Snap, Inc.'s Spectacles comes this brand-new streaming camera called Front Row. It's available right now from Amazon.com (and ships to Canada) but will set you back $400 USD.

Instead of putting a camera on your face you wear this device around your neck—with the included lanyard or a necklace of your own—or by clipping it to a piece of clothing. Apparently the idea for the product came from the CEO of Ubiquiti Networks, who was at an NBA game and wanted to livestream his view without holding up his phone.

Fair enough, but why is this thing so big...?

Because on the other side of this Android-powered camera system there's a full touchscreen. And also a selfie cam. The Front Row, it seems, is like an un-ruggedized GoPro made specifically for livestreaming. Interesting idea; not sure if it's worth the high price tag, though.

Maybe one day. My iPhone has to stay on Verizon (for now) due to coverage. T-Mobile has co-located with Verizon on nearly every tower in my area, but coverage still cuts out (low power?). There’s one...